Crouching Tiny, Hidden Keys
by coop500
Summary: After Lucifer makes a tiny slip up with his car keys, he finds himself aiding a unusual little lady and searching a demolished house. (I thought I uploaded this here already but it seems I didn't) This story does contain a person being gently swallowed whole, but no harm comes to them and it's for a nice reason. No malicious intent or wish to harm here.


With another case closed under their belt, Lucifer was walking out of the police station to head to Lux, as he usually did as night came. He had some time but he liked to hang out at the place for a short while before it filled with happy humans. He walked towards his corvette, parked next to average police cars, though it was probably in the safest place it could be, only a idiot would mess with a car at the LAPD. He reached into his coat to retrieve his keys, hooking his finger around the ring to pull them out.

However, just as the keys left his pocket and he was about to adjust his hold on them, they slipped from his finger, clattering against the pavement, before slipping into a grate. "Oh bloody hell... " He muttered, perturbed as he crouched down to try and retrieve them. Being such a old car, Lucifer might have trouble getting replacements, especially without any spares to copy off of. He didn't feel like having to wrestle with that and hoped he could get them back. He saw the grate and figured that's where they went, so he attempted to reach inside between the bars with his fingers, feeling around for anything that felt like keys. The bars were narrow though so he couldn't fit his fingers in very far, making the Devil a bit frustrated. Lucifer was tempted to just bend the bars out of the way, or rip the grate out.

But before Lucifer did anything rash to get his keys back, he heard a small voice, seeming to come from the grate. "M-mister? W-what's wrong? " It sounded almost like... a child, a little girl, but even then the voice was almost impossibly soft and small sounding. She sounded a bit scared, though some children often were around strangers. The Devil slowly pulled his fingers out then, though he couldn't peer too well inside, he was sure the voice came from in there. "I seemed to have lost my keys, small human. " He answered, doing his best to keep his tone calm and quiet. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he didn't see why he couldn't answer her question.

At first, there was nothing, it made Lucifer wonder if she ran off and he didn't notice. Just as he figured she was gone and he was about to try again, he saw movement and something shiny behind the grate, moving closer to the bars. "I... I think I h-have them, m-mister... " The tiny voice said, sounding almost more nervous this time than the first. Lucifer didn't say anything at first and just watched a impossibly tiny girl holding his keys step out from between the grate, standing on the payment now. The keys were almost as big as she was, it was a bit amazing she managed to carry them out. Though she did struggle a bit so it wasn't a easy task for her. "A-are these y-your keys..? " She asked, the Devil able to hear the faint sound of metal clanging against the pavement as the child trembled, thus causing the keys to do the same.

They were, of course, his and he was quite glad to see them retrieved without causing grate damage. The detective wouldn't be pleased with him if he tore up the place looking for them. "Yes, that they are child... thank you." He paused afterwards, wondering why she'd help him if she was so afraid. He was just going to take the keys and leave her be, but.. even that didn't set right with him. She looked... lonely and understandably afraid of the big wide world and for some reason living in a grate? He was now curious about the tiny girl and didn't want her running off, so he reached down with both hands, tucking one behind her to gently scoop her and the keys up in one fluid motion.

The child backed away at first, understandably afraid of being picked up by a stranger, but there wasn't a whole lot she could do with his hand coming from behind her. "W-wait, what a-are you doing? " Lucifer heard her ask as she laid back in his palm, letting go of the keys now. He snatched them away with his other hand, tucking them in his breast pocket for now. Without the keys, the child felt very light in his palm and also a little cold. He lifted her up too high to jump, though cornering was sort of his intention, it was not for malicious reasons. "I'm getting you off the ground. " He responded plainly, if a tiny bit sarcastically. She didn't seem to appreciate it given how she curled up almost in a small ball, like a pillbug. "P-please don't hurt me m-mister... I g-got your keys back... " Her voice was almost too faint for him to hear, but he understood most of it and tried to give a gentle smile.

Even if he was the Devil, he wasn't so heartless to hurt such a tiny, helpless creature that helped him retrieve his keys, quite the reverse, he wanted to return the favor somehow. "Relax little creature, I'm not going to hurt you, I do want to return the favor though. " The Devil said, giving the tiny child a attempted gentle smile. He thought over now what he could do for her, she seemed alone and if in that drain, homeless. Giving her a warm place to stay seemed like a nice payment and he knew just the place to keep her. The child seemed curious but the look in her eyes told him she was still a tad nervous of him. "W-what are you g-going to do? " Her tiny voice asked, uncurling a little from her pillbug state.

Lucifer believed in a favor for a favor and he felt his idea was fair, keep the tiny child safe, warm and tucked away from the outside world within his stomach. Plus he had a good idea that she'd taste very sweet and delicious. The only challenge would be to get her down without scaring her too much. He didn't feel like explaining in detail what he was going to do, especially since it wasn't likely she'll believe him. So to him it was just unneeded stress, since she had to be in his belly anyway to believe him. With that in mind, he kept his answer simple. " Why, I'm going to devour you of course~ " It may not have been his best choice of words, nor was the playful grin on his lips all that wise either, but the Devil planned to be gentle about it.

With a lick of his lips after she gasped from his words, he gently picked her up out of his palm with his other hand, now just holding her between three fingers. He heard her squeak in fright, but she didn't try to wiggle out of his grasp, likely because the fall to the ground was more terrifying. "H-how is this returning the f-favor M-mister? " She asked, confused and scared understandably, trembling but clinging to his fingers. "You'll see, don't worry small human. " Lucifer replied, not wanting to intentionally scare her about all this. After that he opened his mouth, making sure his tongue covered his bottom teeth. With her close to his nose, he did smell her at first dirty scent, probably from not being able to take a proper bath in awhile. But she also smelled... sweet, like blueberries oddly enough.

The Devil gently placed the tiny child on his tongue, curling the muscle back afterwards to pull her deeper inside and away from the edge. Like in his hand she was almost weightless, bony and frail. He closed his mouth to keep her inside, using his tongue to softly cradle her little curled up form. She was still shaking, he could feel it, but she was still and quiet. She didn't taste like blueberries unlike how she smelled, but she was sweet, her clothes were kinda dry though so he had to lick her some for his saliva to soak in and get them wet for the trip down his gullet. His soft licking however, did earn him a few tiny giggles, apparently the child was ticklish~ He smiled a bit with a deep hum, swallowing some built up drool so he wouldn't drown the girl. Giggling was good though, perhaps if he kept it up she'd relax a bit.

With him licking her and, to boot, tickling her, she was wiggling about now, he felt her tiny hands pushing at his tongue, though the soft but powerful muscle was no match for the little squeaky treat. The Devil gently played with his little snack for a bit longer, but he noticed her squirms and movement was more sluggish, her giggles more breathless after a bit, so he gave a few more soft licks before flattening his tongue with her in the middle, giving her a moment to gather herself, now that she was soaking wet and ready to be swallowed. After she seemed alright, he nudged her feet to point towards his throat, not wanting her to go down head first and be upside down. Lucifer then tipped his head back a little, not by much, just so gravity had a slight edge and she was sliding down towards the back of his throat. With a soft, but firm gulp, he felt the little one slip inside, it feeling like he swallowed a slightly too large lump of food.

The tiny girl was very still as he felt her slide past his neck and collarbone, entering his chest which continued to feel oddly tight. It didn't hurt him of course, but sometimes it was hard to get used to the feeling, even if this was far from his first time. He softly licked his lips then, tasting what little remained of the sweet little one. It was probably a tiny bit selfish of him that his returning favor also benefited him as well, but if the little girl was happy, then he didn't see the harm in it. He was very careful and gentle with her and he knew his belly would be a very cozy, safe little place for her. When the Devil felt the soft fluttering of movement in his gut, he knew she had arrived in his stomach.

Lucifer made a content hum, giving a tender rub to his middle. "There we go~ That's much softer and warmer than a repulsive old drain alongside the street, isn't it~? " He asked, though he well knew the answer and his tone gave that away. Still, he was given the satisfaction of a shy, quiet little voice answering him from within. "Y-yeah... it's not so scary i-in here... " She seemed hesitant to admit it but Lucifer of course didn't mind, it just ensured his idea was a splendid one. "Indeed~ So no need to be so worried. " he said casually, as if he didn't just swallow her whole. But she was taking it pretty well it seemed like, which was a relief. Still, one question did nag at the back of his mind about all this...

"Why were you in that drain anyway? " He asked, slowly standing up and reaching for the keys from his chest pocket now. He heard a unsure sound from the child, almost in thought. "I.. I was hiding... w-when the house me and m-mom were in got destroyed, w-we had to leave b-but... We g-got seperated and I c-couldn't find her, but I t-tried to look... I hid in t-there when I heard you c-coming. " She explained to him, the Devil now faintly hearing sniffling, as if she was crying a little from the memory. He couldn't rightly blame her for hiding, having gobbled her up soon after meeting her, but it was for good intentions.

Lucifer wasn't sure what to do with a crying child in his stomach though, even if she wasn't crying that much, he suspected she was just holding it in for his sake which he was glad for personally. But still, it was not something the Devil was trained in at all to handle. "Is your mum small like yourself? " He asked, hoping it wasn't the case as that might make finding her pretty hard. "Yeah s-she is... we were living in the a-abandoned house, in the walls before it g-got torn down. " The little one said, Lucifer feeling her almost snuggling one of the stomach walls inside, perhaps for comfort? Though he didn't like the idea of being treated like a teddy bear he supposed he could let it slide this time. "W-why do you w-wanna know all t-this? " Her voice was a bit more shy this time, though he found it to be a valid question. Frankly he didn't know what else to do with her, sure he gave her a safe place in his belly for now, but she couldn't stay in there forever. "Just curious, but I might be convinced to help you find your mum, since there isn't much else I can do with you. " He explained, if a little bluntly, but it was true. The Devil was not father material to a tiny child, the girl needed her mother.

"M-mama told me n-not to trust strangers though... especially big ones. " She said curling up a little more again within his belly. Lucifer rolled his eyes to that though, helping people wasn't exactly his usual so he didn't much like it being made difficult for him. "My name is Lucifer Morningstar, there now I'm not a stranger. " He said simply, hoping she won't make it too difficult to help her. "Plus I already did eat you, I believe trust is out the window at this point. " Though after he said Lucifer he noticed a tiny whimper, possibly not too pleased about that little tidbit. "T-the... Devil? " She squeaked out, giving a nervous tremble. He was kinda surprised she knew the whole Lucifer is the Devil thing, then again with her tiny size he had a hard time telling how old she was. "Yes in the flesh~ You should feel honored you have me taking time out of my night to help you. " He pointed out, a bit prideful but not too harsh.

The child seemed to think over his words for a moment, given her long silence but lack of freaking out entirely. "I suppose t-that's true... t-thank you Mister L-Lucifer... " He could hear a sincere tone in her voice from the given thanks, though she still seemed quite on edge about it. He paused for a moment to consider what to say. "You're welcome, small human. Now get comfortable in there for the night while I search~ " Lucifer said in a pleased, cheerful tone after his pause, giving a soft pat to his middle. After that he opened the door to his corvette, stepping down inside and sitting in the driver seat after swinging his feet in. "Y-you're really going t-to look for my mom? " The little girl asked, sounding surprised but happy.

Lucifer had the ignition key in hand, but waited to start the car until he answered his little stomach guest. "I said so, didn't I? And I don't tell any lies, child. That is, unless you want to just stay in there~ " He couldn't help but playfully tease, his eyes glanced at his suit covered middle for a moment, giving her time to reply. "N-no, please do find my m-mommy! Not t-that... you're hurting me o-or anything, but I r-really miss my mommy... " There was a little more sniffing, her voice cracking a bit, but she did still sound happy. It was a bit much for the Devil to wrap his head around, but this was the best he could do for her, give her a safe little room to stay in and go find her mum, he couldn't see how he could possibly be a better Satan than that. "M-my name is Becky by t-the way Mister Devil... " She spoke up, trying to be polite seems like.

Assuming everything was okay, he decided to get things rolling, so to speak. "Lovely name~ Alright then Becky, sit back and enjoy the ride~ " He knew she couldn't really see anything outside of his innards, but it was better this way. With high speeds, she could blow away even and that'd be really awful. Of course he could have just tucked her in a pocket maybe, but that wouldn't have been as fun to him, or delicious. Soon the Devil put the key and turned it, the corvette's engine starting up with ease. He couldn't hear much over the sound of the engine, though he could have sworn he heard some form of loud giggling from his belly, perhaps from the vibrations the car was sending through Lucifer and thus, to her too. He dropped the clutch and put it into gear, pulling out of the police department's driveway and heading towards the main street.

Given her size, she couldn't have traveled far from when she got separated from her mother, so he was looking for a house nearby that was getting torn down. It was the only lead he had and he couldn't bother Chloe with this, given the size of the subjects at hand and the fact he made a snack out of one of them. But, to him it made sense the mother might return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, in search of her missing child. Or if he was lucky or very observant, he could find clues on where she could be. His time working with the detective has made him a bit better at the job than he was before, catching small details the average human wouldn't catch, or even himself a few years ago. He wasn't as good as she was of course, since she made a career out of it, but at the moment Lucifer was all the little mother and daughter had.

If the child was trying to talk to him, he wouldn't really be able to hear it at this point, especially once he was on the road, cars zipping by, wind blowing around him and over the windshield almost too short for his height. One hand rested on the steering wheel, the other on the side of the windshield, grasping the edge with his long fingers as he waited behind a small line of cars in front of a red light. His dark brown eyes scanned the streets, looking for signs of a construction. After a few more blocks, he started to wonder if he should turn around and go down another street, but he caught sight of a orange truck hauling some house bits, mainly wood, coming from a side street one block ahead of him. The truck was probably heading to the dump he assumed, but he had a good idea that the house could very well be down there.

It was odd to him they were still working on it at this hour, but perhaps that was the last haul before the workers turned in for the night. He waited until his current light was green before stepping on the gas, sort of wishing he could go faster but with someone along with him and having to turn in just a moment, he decided to behave and stick to the speed limit. Though Becky was sealed up in a immortal barricade of flesh, it still wouldn't be a fun ride if he did happen to wreak. But Lucifer was a skilled driver, he didn't just stomp on the gas without being on alert, he just liked to go fast.

He took the turn once it was clear, slowing down a little to sidestreet speeds, seeing a few bits of wood littering the road that fell of the trucks throughout the day. Lucifer hoped there was no nails, he'd be furious if he popped a tire or something, all because some blasted humans couldn't keep their sharp metal objects out of where people drive. The Devil kept driving until he finally saw the scene, there wasn't much left of the house at this point, but as he suspected some equipment was around, but no workers, most of them heading home now until tomorrow. But that was perfect for him, he didn't have to worry about them getting upset with his presence.

Since there was no way he could spot Becky's mom from his car, Lucifer pulled off to the sidewalk on the other side of the street after making a U-turn to face the right direction, parking behind someone else's more normal, boring in his mind car. After that he turned the key to kill the engine. "W-what happened? " A familiar, tiny voice asked her devourer. "I found the house you and your mum were in, I suspect she might return here looking for you. " He explained his plan to her, leaning back in the corvette's seat as he glanced around the sidewalk across the street, by the house. "No one seems to be around, so with any luck I'll be able to search in peace~ "

Lucifer knew that it was likely her mother would run and hide if she saw him, just like her daughter did. So he had to be on alert, searching for any signs of movement that could be her. He opened the door of his car and stepped outside, standing up and closing the door behind him after tucking the keys back into his pocket again. The Devil couldn't help but smirk a little, he'd have to tap into his more predatory tendencies to search for the woman, something he didn't get to do a whole lot these days. Chloe didn't exactly let him hunt down criminals as much as he'd like to and as much as he liked working with her, she wasn't around for this.

Dress shoes clicked softly on the pavement as the Devil crossed the street, heading towards the ruined house, keeping a eye out for nails or anything else he rather not step on and wreak his red bottom shoes. He walked around a pile of beams and boards torn from the house, stacked like trash now pretty much, his eyes scanning around for anything out of the ordinary, or mostly, any signs of movement or life. Someone the size of Becky and her mom, he imagined they were good at running and hiding to have survived this long in the cruel world, so he had to keep his wits about him. Another disadvantage he had was he stuck out like a sore thumb here, everyone was used to construction workers here and he didn't look like anything of the sort, so he already looked odd and out of place.

So far after searching around the pile, he saw nothing, causing him to pause and think for a moment. If the house was torn down while they were in it... he figured it might be possible that the mother could be searching for a possible body of her child in the wreckage. With that idea in mind, Lucifer headed towards the foundation, where some debris still laid in ruin. he kept his steps soft and didn't speak, only using his eyes and ears to focus on anything he could pick up. As he got closer however, he saw one pretty big splinter move a bit, before finally being pushed aside by something small, standing on two legs. That was very likely her, he couldn't think of what else it could be.

However, they saw each other at about the same time and she reacted first, taking off running into the grass away from him. Lucifer grinned mischievously though, watching her and muttering a few words to himself. "And now the hunt begins~ " He couldn't see why he couldn't have a little bit of fun with it, if he was going to take the time to help these two get back together and all that. As she ran, Lucifer followed at a brisk walking pace, there was no need to run as just one of his strides covered many of her's. He followed the trail of moving grass, as it was too tall to see her directly, but then something happened, as he neared closer, the grass stopped moving.

Lucifer, confused, crouched down at the spot he just saw her at and spread the grass apart with his hands, trying to spot her, but there was nothing there... He wasn't quite sure how she pulled it off, but it was almost as if she vanished. The Devil didn't mind the challenge though, chuckling deeply and looking to one side. He figured she'd go for shelter, somewhere she could slip into and he couldn't reach her at least without tearing anything apart and at the moment, the best choice was the pile of beams and boards. He could move it of course but he risked crushing her doing that, if she was in the pile. Now if he could beat her there to it...

With that in mind, he walked towards it and quickly began circling it, watching for her attempting to dart in or something. Luckily for him, that's exactly what she tried to do, coming from the foundation side again, she tried to run before he got to that side, but he was too quick for her. In one swift motion, he bent down and snatched her up in a gentle, but firm fist, earning a loud, angry yell from her. "Put me down! " She demanded, unlike her daughter who curled up like a meek little thing in his palm, she struggled, wiggled, kicked and just about anything she could do to get loose.

But the Devil's hand was like a vice, not crushing but not giving under her efforts either. "Now now, I caught you fair and square darling~ " He pointed out with a smug, proud grin, cupping his other hand under her to support her legs even as they wildly kicked around. "I have to find my daughter! Please let me go! " She told him, reaching for something on her back and pulling it out. Turned out it was a fairly large sewing needle and with all her might, she jabbed it into his thumb, in hopes he'd let go. Being the Devil however, the needle's point slipped off his skin without a scratch. He was a bit amused by the attempted assault, thankfully having no desire to return it and instead laughed a bit, standing up and holding her up higher, high enough that falling would be fatal. "Yes, about your daughter... I believe it's in your best interest to calm down for a moment, love. "

She however looked shocked that it didn't affect him, which in turn made her try to stab him again, regardless that if he dropped her now, it'd mean her death. Of course, it had the same result and he was getting a little annoyed. He removed the hand that was cradling her legs to snatch the needle from her grasp. "Alright enough of that. " He announced, hoping that once she was weaponless, she'd be a bit more reasonable. "What do you want?! " She instead hollered at him, glaring at his big brown eyes with her blue ones that looked very much like Becky's eyes, just filled with building tears and anger. "Is your daughter named Becky by any chance? " He asked, still holding the needle away from her.

That seemed to have done something, for she stopped fighting in his grip and looked confused, if a bit suspicious. "Yes... why? " She crossed her arms over the top of his finger, as close to her chest as she could in her current condition. Lucifer grinned again, using the needle to playfully pick something out of his teeth, before answering her. "I met her a little bit ago, the tiny creature returned my keys to me after the things slipped away into a grate. " He casually explained to her, going back to using the needle as a toothpick as he let the mother process his words. "I told her to stay away from you large humans... " She said bitterly, giving him a stern glare.

He pulled the needle out of his mouth then to scoff. "I beg your pardon, I am not a human darling~ But it is true that she mentioned she was not supposed to show herself to me. Regardless she did and I was ever so thankful for her help... " His voice became a bit mocking at the second part, trailing off with a playful grin. "What did you do... ? " The mother asked, all bravato escaping her to be filled with growing horror, terrified of the idea of what awful thing could have became of her sweet daughter. The Devil was being a little too teasing perhaps, giving the mother quite a fright and he was about to give her a even bigger fright. But she did try to stab him, twice! "I think I rather show you~ "

With that said, he brought the mother closer to his mouth, however instead of opening right away, he focused on his stomach, squeezing the muscles closed to gently squish Becky back up his throat. He had to take his time, to not harm the child as his internal muscles kneaded her back up. If he squeezed too hard he could hurt her, but if he didn't squeeze hard enough gravity would take over and the little one would slip right back down into his belly. The mother looked confused, leaning back away from him though she could only go so far within his grasp. Lucifer fully expected her to freak out in a minute, but there really wasn't a reason to. Sure he did devour her daughter and she was quite delicious, but he never harmed her, quite the reverse even. The Devil's belly kept the little one warm, safe and cozy for the trip.

There was faint muffled giggling coming from Lucifer's neck, a teeny tiny lump rising up from his collarbone then slipping by his Adam's apple. He looked down with his eyes alone to see the mother looked a bit horrified, even more so than before. Soon the lump was gone as he felt the little girl on his tongue, giggling a bit more. At this point Lucifer decided to open his jaws now, slowly to reveal the little child nestled inside. She was laying on her front so he kept the tip of his tongue curled a bit so she wouldn't slide out by accident. "M-momma? " The soft child voice asked, while Lucifer shifted his hold on the mother. He tipped his hand back and opened his fist, creating a platform with his hand instead, allowing the mother to move more freely and to give a place to put Becky.

"Becky? Are you alright? Did he hurt you? " Lucifer heard the mother ask, while he was unable to reply he instead tipped his head down and made sure the tip of his tongue was now covering his bottom teeth, allowing the little girl to slide out of his mouth and land on his hand with a light plop. That earned him a soft squeak during the slide from her, but otherwise she just seemed focused on her mom. "I'm a-alright momma, he d-didn't hurt me. " She told her mom, while Lucifer closed his mouth and lowered his hand down and away, still plenty too high for them to jump off but he could see them better now.

Despite Becky being covered in his drool, the mother didn't seem to mind as he watched them hug each other. He wasn't a fan of the lovey dovey stuff, though he only had himself to blame for bringing them together, the Devil wouldn't take it back if he could. He made a promise to the child and he kept it, despite it being like looking for a angry needle in a haystack armed with another needle. However, the mother did mind something, for she was soon back to glaring at him while holding her daughter. "You ate her? What's wrong with you? " She asked, angry about it clearly. But Lucifer really wasn't in the mood, he kept his promise to the child and that's what he wanted, but he promised no one he'd let the tiny angry mother yell at him.

"She was delicious, what can I say~? " He replied teasingly, crouching down to put both little females back down on the ground. "Mommy p-please be nice... he f-found you for m-me when I c-couldn't. " The child informed her mother, as Lucifer nudged them off his hand and back onto the lawn, but kept the needle for now. " Right, now that I held up my end of the deal, I believe it's time I head off. " The Devil announced, knowing he was now terribly late and the party at Lux has already begun. The mother looked a little guilty to her daughter's words, but didn't say anything about it and just nodded. "T-thank you Mister Lucifer! " The tiny child called to him, the stutter still remaining probably from lingering nervousness of being around someone so much bigger, but the words sounded sincere. "Yes.. you're welcome, child. " He sounded a tad bit awkward, not used to having children thank him for things.

Lucifer than stood up and turned around back towards his car, letting the two ladies work out what to do next. It was something he couldn't really help all that much, a new home for them that is. He wasn't sure of their needs and frankly, his nightclub wouldn't be a good place, the loud music would possibly hurt them. But he figured, they done it once at least, they could do it again. He did his good deed and got the two back together, instead of being lost and alone. Before he walked too far away, he did find himself glancing back to where he left the girls and they were already gone, so he bent down and placed the needle on the sidewalk edge, where no one would likely walk, but she could have it back if she wanted.

After that Lucifer walked back to his corvette, opened the driver door and got his keys out, starting the engine and driving off out of the neighborhood. He hoped Lux would fair well enough without him for the time it took for him to do all that and come back. Once he was back on the main street he turned on some music, weaving through LA traffic to work his way to his own home. 


End file.
